Yes, the thought has crossed Danny Espinosa's mind. How could he not worry about the possibility of being sent to the minors the way he's been struggling at the plate this season?

"Oh, I was. I was [defecating] in my pants," the Nationals second baseman said. "I was. I was nervous. I mean, I'm young. Every young player, when you're not doing well, there's always that thought of you could go down.

"That's why I'm not going to sit here and say I'm the guy that thinks I'm invincible and they're not going to ever send me down. Every young player thinks that. I'm not lying. Whether people want to hear that or not, that goes through every young player's head. That went through my head for a few days."

Espinosa spoke confidently about himself this afternoon, despite his .188 batting average, despite his 30 strikeouts (second-most in the National League) and despite the fact there would be some justification for his demotion once Ryan Zimmerman returns from the disabled listRead more »

There was a bit of talk today about how Davey used Flores as a pinch hitter, leaving no catchers on the bench. Has anybody noticed that with Laroche scratched it looks like Moore is the only infielder on the bench today? My guess is we won't see Moore pinch hit for the pitcher, but he may bat for Ankiel.

Davey Johnson said. "I just want him to be Danny Espinosa."What he is is a .265 hitter with some pop, good speed and above average defense. He will strike out once every 4-5 times up, he'll walk 10% of the time. While there may be a place for him in this lineup it's not the two hole. He's one of my favorite players but ultimately either he or Desmond will have to be relegated to a utility role. I'm not sure either is suited for that.

I have an off the wall idea that may raise Espi's average 70 points, hee hee. I remember back in 1969, Ted Williams corrected Eddie Brinkman's approach to the ball and Eddie went from a meager 220 hitter to 290 in one season! So… my idea is to hire Fritz from the original Frankenstein movie and have him rob old Ted's grave, then take his corpse to Dr. Henry von Frankenstein, Dr. F will have to re attach old Ted's head to his body but then, after the electoral storm needed to pull this off, after Dr F screams, its alive, its alive, ah ha ha ha, then we take the resurrected Ted to meet Danny and all will be well. I have entirely too much time on my hands, LOL

I am a big Espinosa fan too, but like alexva I see a future where either Desmond or Espinosa becomes a utility guy. Basically, this generation's Jerry Hairston. My sense is that a role change like that usually comes with a change in scenery. Can anyone think of an example where a player was a starter for two or more years, then became a utility guy and stayed with the same organization? I'm discounting players who aged out of playing everyday.

Johnson: "I just want him to be Danny Espinosa." Does Danny even know who he is? How about first admitting you have a hole in your swing and the pitchers have been exploiting it since last year's all-star break? Let's not confuse confidence with denial.

Look, right now, Danny is 1/2 a player. But with all the injuries, that's better than nothing, a heck of a lot better than nothing! If all he does is play 2nd base while RZ is out so Lombo can play 3rd, fine, so be it. We have one fine infield and no slouches in the outfield either.PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let LaRoche be out only for 2-3 days like Davey said.

Danny knows he's got a loop in his swing; Derosa told him so in early spring training. So, what's he done about it? He does this for a living — all the tape for him to see — all the coaches to assist him. Yet, he is worse than ever. Me thinks he lacks a bit in the brains department: another dumb jock incapable of fixing a well known problem. Send him down.